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I met Marcie when we were both pregnant with our daughters in Little Rock. Our husbands were class mates in AC school, and the four of us ended up hanging out frequently during the few months Ryan and I were here. Since that time, we’ve seen them from time to time as their little family has grown to a bigger family. Marcie used to tease that she was going to catch up with me, and with the addition of little Ruth, she finally has! I’m pretty sure she may pass me in a few years. 🙂 She came over on Monday and I had the lights on, trying to capture each of her little ones as they came into the studio area and then quickly ran back out to go play with my kids. I managed to capture just a few of all five together, but my favorite is the title slide, which, I think, portrays the personality of each of her babies: sweet, quiet Rebekah gazing down at precious newborn Ruth; studious, yet ornery Trey; curious Seth; and bubbly Anna – full of expression. I’m am so thankful to call Marcie a friend, and I can not wait to see the future God holds for her beautiful family.

Throughout my adult life, I have owned or co-owned several businesses.  “Follow the Rules” is big on my Life List,  so starting a business has always begun with a phone call to City Hall to find out what needed to happen to make sure I was running my business in compliance with the local guidelines – they are different from state to state, county to county and even city to city.  Our move to Little Rock Air Force Base threw me a little, because I didn’t know what the “rules” were for on-base businesses.  So, I started at the Welcome Center.  Then went to City Hall.  Then back (“Oh, you’re a photographer?  There’s a special rule for that”).  Then to the water dept.  Then the Welcome Center.  Then back to City Hall.  Finally, after many weeks of pulling my hair, and just as I was ready to throw my hands up, I received my City of Jacksonville business license.  I felt awesome – like I’d conquered the world.  Because the process is so convoluted, I can see how it might discourage others from pursuing the license, so I created this infographic explaining the required steps.  I love being able to tell my clients that I am a legitimate, legal, taxpaying business, and I think they appreciate that.  I hope this graphic will help other entrepreneurs on base as they build their businesses.

Did you find this useful?  Leave a comment and please share!  (My share buttons are in the testing phase, so let me know if you have problems.)

I am not a “tog”.   I am a photographer, and there is a difference.  I respect this amazing craft that was born in a box with a pinhole and used as a drawing aid.  I am in awe that the first exposures took an entire day to create.  It amazes me that the first portraits, daguerreotypes, could not be duplicated; each was an original.   My heart breaks thinking of the artist, who after each session, delivered his artwork to the client trusting her to protect and cherish it. The vast amount of money, equipment, and knowledge the first photographs required is humbling.    My mind runs through the great photographers of the past who made the advancements we take for granted today, when not a moment of our lives is left undocumented.  George Eastman, who didn’t think it unreasonable for everyone to have a camera, built Eastman – Kodak on the principle, “You push the button, we do the rest.”  And we did.  Automatic cameras have always created a beautiful image, and the quality just keeps improving.  Photography is literally in everyone’s hands, but that does not make everyone a photographer.

Before photography was ever invented, the rules were set in place – the rules of the artist:  line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color.  Photographers have only one medium: light.  To create a photograph that evokes emotion in the viewer, the artist has to know how to bend, shape, and block light.  This knowledge takes education and experience.  Currently trending is the blown out look – an exposure that eliminates all shadows from a subjects face.  In fact, it is the most popular look out there, and most cameras automatically create it.  However, there are a few artists who still use light to create shadows, and I’m willing to bet that when you see an image created by one of these individuals, it gives you pause, and you look a little longer as you’re pulled in to the story of the capture.  I have much to learn, but I aspire in my work to be one of those individuals.  Those rare individuals who care about the rules, and the physics, and the history of this great craft called Photography.    So, please, don’t call me a “tog”.